Snowdon challenge: mission accomplished!
On September 14th I took on the challenge of climbing the 1085 metres of Snowdon, (Yr Wyddfa), in a fundraising event organised by the charity, Animals Asia. They campaign against animal cruelty and in particular, the horrible practice of bear bile farming. There is more information about them below.
A big THANK YOU...
…to everyone who so kindly donated. It was really heart-warming to see your response. At the time of writing the event has raised about £10,ooo and the figure is rising as promised donations come in.
Just in case you’re reading this and thinking “how did I miss the opportunity to donate”, all is not lost! You can use this JustGiving link below to do so.
So how did it go?
The route was on a track called Rhyd Ddu, which is one of 6 official paths. On a difficulty scale (6 being the hardest) I gather Rhydd Du is 4th. It was quite hard going in parts but not so that it needed any special skills or equipment. We were guided by three experienced people, including Pen Farthing – more about him below.
There were a couple of ridges a few meters wide with drop-offs on either side. The weather was just right – not too hot, not too cold. However, as we neared the summit the wind picked up and cloud closed in. At the summit the wind was 50mph and visibility about 5m! So we got there, but didn’t linger.
The downward journey, whilst it was on gentler slopes, was tricky as there was a lot of loose stone. The last part of the trek took us through a disused quarry, which was interesting.
There are a few pictures below – click to make them bigger. The video is a slideshow with more pictures.
This video is a slideshow of the big event
About Animals Asia
Animals Asia is a wonderful charity that helps animals that are victims of cruelty and abuse. In particular, it helps bears who are victims of the horribly cruel bear bile trade. I’ll spare you the details here; there’s plenty of information on the internet, or the Animals Asia website, if you want to know more. Suffice to say that I think the charity deserves our support.
My effort of ‘climbing’ (if that’s the right word) Snowdon seems meagre compared to the efforts of the charity’s workers who campaign tirelessly, and rescue and care for these poor bears and other animals. However, I wanted at least to do something to earn your kind donations!
A shout out for NOWZAD
The charity NOWZAD has similar goals to Animals Asia, but focuses on rescuing animals in Afghanistan and Ukraine. It is run by Pen Farthing, who led our trek. You may remember that in the Kabul evacuation in 2021, he refused to abandon the staff and animals in his animal rescue centre, and managed to get the animals onto a flight out.
